Beware: NikaInfinity

Original agreement:

Tropical YCH, 2 versions; one SFW and one NSFW version. AB an auction at $200; Paid $212 total for a 6% fee to cover PayPal fees as dictated by the artist. YCH was paid for on July 19, 2020. Please see screencap for PayPal payment, along with confirmation in chat.

My experience with NikaInfinity began July 17, 2020, when I purchased a YCH from her on FurAffinity. Everything seemed to proceed smoothly at first, with great communication and helping to pick out references. I asked for an invoice as one had not been tendered until the 19th, at which point I had immediately paid the invoice. Sketch was tendered on the 20th, and everything was well.

No communication for a few weeks, which was shocking considering the good upfront communication. I tried to check in on Aug 4th and again on the 8th; I got confirmation that she was okay on the 9th but no update to the commission.

Contact was again attempted on Aug 30th, with no reply until Sept 14th apologizing for the delay and promising updates for Sept 18th. I was polite, and waited until Oct 3 to ask her about it, giving her two weeks of grace for the promised date of the 18th. I did not get a reply until Oct 12th, promising lines "this week". I asked her to keep communication, as that was the biggest issue I was having with the process. 

Not waiting as long, I asked again an update on Oct 17th - I got an update with lines on Oct 18th! I was really happy at this point because despite the complete and utter lack of communication, it at least appeared I would get my commission. Because of this, I eased up a bit on questioning and let things go until Dec 2nd.

As you may have guessed, I did not get any updates, so I asked if she was well on Dec 2nd. No reply. Jan 9th rolls around, and a journal was posted on FA saying that she had lost all of everyone's commission info - I was not initially on the list, so I asked her about it. There was no reply or confirmation, although I did see that it was added to the list *STILL* at the 30% it was at months ago.

Jan 12th, and I got a message saying she was working on the lines, and I assured her I would be patient. This is around when Spectacle197 posted their beware about Nika / requested the refund, and Nika posted the journal that they referenced about her becoming "homeless", which was a big red flag for me and an understanding that it was not likely that I was going to get my commission finished. I asked her on the 13th for a timeframe, and I was assured I would be "next".

"Next" may or may not be fair, as I do not know the order for the other 40+ people on her commission list. She said that she was working on my piece, but the link she posted for the WIP updates (Jan10th, bottom right) was exactly the same as the one she posted months ago (Oct 20th, middle). It was at this point where I stressed that waiting 6 months was taking its toll, and I don't think the lack of communication was fair - especially as her TOS states that she will communicate.

I have everything to lose from posting this beware, if the artist decide's not to finish the commission as retaliation; I am too far out to request a PayPal refund, and quite frankly, I was too nice through this whole process because I didn't want to butt heads and did not want to lose my commission. I, unfortunately, have little hope of seeing it finished at this point - which is a shame, because the artist is obviously very talented, and I am still just as excited to receive my piece today as I was 6 months ago. The artist vanishes for months at a time from all platforms, makes promises to work and takes new commissions, and then vanishes again for months at a time.

Judging by the insane amount of clients she currently has, I would not suggest this artist as a client, and I am now out $212. Lesson learned - still hoping like a fool to see the finished piece.